Thursday, July 23, 1987

Sitting in the security office of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, Dave Miller tapped his fingers against his desk as he went over the surveillance footage of today's incident, which seemed to have begun with a scuffle between two young boys.

He frowned as he watched the younger boy get pushed by the older one and then kicked in the knee. However, upon seeing Mangle nearly bite the older boy's arm off, Dave couldn't help but to smirk.

He got up and left his office. As he went down the hallway, he could hear the manager and one of the technicians talking.

Walton was pacing back and forth in the Main Area. "Oh God, what are we going to do? What are we going to do?"

Ramón, meanwhile, watched the manager with his arms crossed. "I told you something bad would happen, Mister Walton. I told you."

"I know, I know!" Walton replied as he rubbed his forehead. "I just didn't expect it to be something like this." He came to a halt and gestured to Kids' Cove. "At least tell me that you managed to decommission that thing."

"No," Ramón huffed. "She's acting like a cornered animal in there, and given the kind of bite force she has, none of us dare get close to her," he explained. "At this point, it's better to wait until her battery runs out."

"Once it does, I want you to scrap that thing as soon as possible. We can't have a dangerous animatronic like that around," Walton said. "Christ, Ramón, you should've seen what it did to that poor kid."

Dave cleared his throat as he approached Walton and Ramón. Once he had their attention, he said, "I apologize for the interruption, but I may have some good news."

"We could definitely use some, Dave," Walton replied. "What is it?"

Dave grinned and pointed his thumb down the hallway. "I just went over the surveillance footage of the incident. Turns out that the boy wasn't so innocent. He and a friend were deliberately trying to break Toy Foxy—pulling on her wiring and such," he explained. "Seeing the footage, it's abundantly clear that what happened was a malfunction caused by their vandalism, since the boy was tugging on the wires coming out of her head when she bit him."

Looking slightly relieved, Walton turned to Ramón and asked, "Could that be it?"

Ramón thought for a moment and then replied, "Yeah, it's definitely possible. But given how corrupt their code is, it's impossible to tell for sure."

Dave then spoke up again, "Given how popular she is with the kids, it'd be a shame to decommission her for this. They have been able to take her apart and put her together with no issue thus far, so it obviously requires a lot to trigger this kind of malfunction."

"That's… true," Walton admitted. He then stroked his chin as he thought to himself. Finally, he said, "Okay, this is what we'll do: we'll put a warning sign telling the kids not to mess with Toy Foxy's wiring and that we can't be held liable for anything that might happen if they do."

Ramón raised an eyebrow at that. "You do know that most of the kids that hang out in the Cove can't read, right?"

"Maybe not, but their parents and older siblings can, so that should release us from any liability," Walton replied confidently.

"I'm… pretty sure that's not how that works, Mister Walton," Ramón said with a very skeptical look on his face. He then turned to Dave and asked, "That's not how that works, right?"

"Believe me, Fazbear Entertainment has gotten away with far worse using tactics like this. They'll find a way to make it work," Dave replied with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

It was a little past 10:00 PM when William Afton returned home. After briefly talking to Michael, who was watching TV in the living room, William went upstairs to check in on Evan. As he approached his youngest son's bedroom, William could hear the faint sound of muffled sobs.

William frowned as he considered how long Evan might've been crying.

He opened the door as quietly as he could and peered inside. The lights were off and Evan was laying in bed with his face burrowed in his pillow, letting out the occasional sniffle or sob.

"Hey, sport," William said softly as he stepped over to Evan's bed.

Evan raised his head a little so he could see William. Hiccuping, he replied, "H-hi, Father."

Sitting down on the side of the bed, William gently ruffled the eight year old's hair and asked, "What's wrong?"

"M-M-Mangle bit someone," Evan sobbed. "A-a-and now they're gonna scrap her…"

William frowned. "Who told you that?"

"M-Michael," Evan sniffled in response.

William hummed, and then said with a comforting smile, "Well, I have it on good authority that she's not getting decommissioned."

Evan rolled over on his side so that he could look his father in the eyes. The boy's face was wet and his pillow was completely drenched with tears. "R-really?"

"Really," William reassured the boy with a nod. "If you go there again tomorrow, she'll be there. I promise."

A hopeful smile began to spread on Evan's face, but then he cast his gaze downward with a saddened frown.

William looked at his son with concerned eyes. Reaching out and stroking his cheek, he asked, "What's on your mind, sport?"

"Y-you said that Mangle will break down," Evan sniffled and rubbed his eye. "So even if she doesn't get scrapped, she… She's still going to…"

"I know…" William replied with a somber look in his eyes.

"I… I don't want her to go, Father," Evan sobbed, yet more tears streaming down his cheeks. "She's my only friend…"

William opened his mouth as if to say something and then stopped himself. He thought for a moment, and then said, "I know how hard it can be to let go, sport. I really do." He swallowed and then added, "But I think this just goes to show that you really need to make some human friends."

"B-b-but everyone else is just mean to me…" Evan sniffled. "No one has ever been so nice to me, a-a-and fun, as Mangle… No one…"

William frowned as he struggled to come up with a response. Finally, he said, "I wish there was something I could say to make things better, sport. But the truth is… If there's one piece of advice I can give you, it's to treasure every single moment you share with those you care about… because, when they're gone, those memories are all you have of them."

This, of course, did nothing to cheer Evan up. If anything, he just looked more distraught.

William cupped the boy's face and gave him a comforting smile. "Hey, no matter what the future holds, you'll get to spend the day tomorrow with Mangle. Focus on that, alright?"

Evan hummed and gave William a wobbly smile.

"Attaboy," William chuckled. He then kissed Evan's forehead and said, "Now go to sleep. You have a whole day full of fun ahead of you tomorrow. I promise."

Evan nodded with a slightly more genuine smile.

"Good night, sport," William said fondly as he stood up and tucked his son in.

"Good night, Father," Evan replied as he settled into bed.

William exited the room, but before he closed the door, he smiled at Evan and said, "Sleep tight."

After closing the door behind him, William took a deep breath and let out a mournful sigh.

His gaze then drifted to the door to Elizabeth's bedroom. Hesitating at first, William approached the door and opened it. He entered, flicked on the lights, and looked around. The room looked exactly as Elizabeth had left it. Looking at the various toys, drawings, and stuffed animals strewn about, a somber smile slowly crept onto William's face as fond memories began to surface.

His eyes then landed on a Circus Baby plush and he frowned. He shut his eyes as painful memories flooded his mind.

Gritting his teeth, William flicked off the lights and left the room, closing the door behind him.

William put his arm against the wall and leaned against it. Letting out a whimper, he asked, "Why didn't you listen…?"

He then made his way into the master bedroom, where he grabbed a photo album from one of the cabinets before sitting down on the queen size bed. William opened the photo album and began to reminisce as he browsed the Afton family photos. They were pictures of better days, before everything went wrong.

Before William ruined everything.

Tears dripped down on the photos as he sobbed quietly to himself.

Friday, July 24, 1987

Evan's stomach was in knots as he and Michael made their way to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. He was so worried about Mangle that when they arrived at the entrance of the restaurant, he didn't react when his older brother started talking to him.

Michael frowned and proceeded to twist Evan's ear, causing the eight year old to cry out in pain.

"Listen to me, you ditz!" Michael yelled in annoyance as his little brother put his hand on the ear he had twisted. "I want you to be careful around that freakshow, alright? Don't get too close to its mouth, and don't get near it if there are no people around. Got it?"

Evan didn't respond. Instead he just wiped tears from his eyes and continued to rub his ear.

"Hello?!" Michael shouted and snapped his fingers an inch away from Evan's face.

"Fine!" Evan yelled back in anger.

"The hell is your problem, you little brat? I'm just trying to keep you safe," Michael berated his younger brother.

"Can we go inside, already?" Evan asked with a frown. "I don't wanna be around you anymore…"

Michael huffed. "Suits me fine."

The fourteen year old then went inside of the restaurant, with Evan following behind him. Once Michael had paid the entrance fee, the two boys put on their bracelets before going their separate ways.

Evan sniffled as he walked over to Kids' Cove, but upon entering the room he felt a pit in his stomach.

Mangle wasn't there.

Evan was on the verge of tears as his thoughts raced. Fearing the worst, he was about to go ask one of the employees what happened to her.

But then he remembered their hiding spot.

Moving hastily, but not so much that he'd attract attention, Evan went over to the vent in the Main Hallway. After looking around to make sure no one was watching him, the eight year old opened the vent cover, crawled inside, and closed it behind him.

As he crawled further into the vents, Evan whispered, "Mangle? Are you there?"

Although it was difficult to make out due to all of the noise of the restaurant, the eight year old thought he could hear sniffles up ahead.

"Ev-Ev-Evan…?" Mangle whimpered in response.

Evan felt a huge wave of relief washed over him upon hearing his friend's voice. Smiling, he took out his flashlight and switched it on, shining it in Mangle's direction, before he continued to crawl towards her.

The animatronic sniffled. "You came-ame-ame back?"

"Of course I did!" Evan replied, hugging her head once he got within reach.

Mangle leaned into the hug and sobbed, "I tho-tho-thought you didn't like me anymo-mo-mo-more…"

"Of course I like you!" Evan comforted the animatronic as he stroked the back of her head. "You're my best friend!"

Mangle sniffled. "I a-a-a-am?"

Breaking the hug, Evan nodded. "Mm-hm."

Mangle's ears drooped and her gaze drifted downward. "Every-ry-ry-ryone else ha-ha-hates me now… They think-ink-ink-ink I'm bad… Dangerous…"

Evan frowned. "They're wrong. And if you ask me, Timmy got what he deserved."

Mangle didn't respond, she just tried to hide her face in shame.

In an attempt to cheer her up, Evan opened his backpack and pulled out a comic book. "Hey, Mangle? Wanna read some comics?"

Mangle looked up at Evan, her spirits lifted somewhat, and she nodded.

Evan spent the next couple of hours reading various comics to Mangle. He would do different voices for the various characters, with more than a few being over the top or silly, and he did his best to mimic the sound effects. As time went on, Mangle's mood improved significantly. At first, she would only occasionally snicker when something funny happened in the story or when Evan acted silly, but she would gradually start to giggle instead and do it more frequently, and she grew more excited to follow along the story.

Eventually, however, Evan heard Michael calling for him.

Evan gave Mangle a rueful smile as he closed the comic book. "Sorry, Mangle, but I have to go home now."

Mangle looked utterly distraught. "Please-ease-ease don't go," she begged.

Evan gave her a look of concern. "I'm sorry, but… but I have to."

Mangle's ears drooped as she lowered her head. "I don't want to be a-a-a-alone again…"

Evan frowned. "But… um… what about the other animatronics? Can't you hang out with them?"

Mangle looked away in shame. "They don't like me any-ny-ny-nymore… They think-ink-ink I'm bad…"

"Because of what happened yesterday?" Evan asked.

Mangle nodded somberly.

Evan tried to think of something to say to make Mangle feel better, but then he heard Michael call out for him again, this time sounding quite angry and annoyed.

Swallowing, Evan said, "I'm sorry, Mangle. If I could stay longer, I would. But, um, I'll come back tomorrow, okay?"

Mangle looked up at him. "You promise?"

Evan gave her a comforting smile and then hugged her head. "I promise."

Later that day, Ramón Rivera took a sip from his coffee cup as he walked down the Main Hallway on his way to Parts and Service. However, he immediately came to a halt upon seeing Dave Miller standing on a step ladder and fiddling with the internal components of one of the surveillance cameras.

"Uh, Dave, what the hell are you doing?" Ramón asked in surprise.

"Oh hello, Ramón," Dave replied nonchalantly. "The camera was malfunctioning, so I thought I'd do some repairs."

"You know you're not allowed to do that, right?" Ramón asked as he regarded Dave with suspicion. "If something breaks or is not working right, you're supposed to tell me or one of the other technicians and let us handle it."

"Oh well, I didn't want to bother you with this," Dave replied as if it was nothing. "Besides, I'm quite good with electronics, so I figured it'd be faster to just deal with it myself."

Ramón narrowed his eyes. "Right… Well, I'm going to have to report this to Mister Walton."

Dave frowned and didn't respond at first, but then he finally said, "You do what you have to." He then went back to tinker with the camera.

Ramón shook his head in disbelief and disapproval before he turned around and went back the way he came. Upon reaching the manager's office, he knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Walton said from inside of the office. As Ramón entered, the manager swiveled around on his chair to see who it was. "Ah, Ramón! Have you come up with a fix for the animatronics yet?"

"No, unfortunately," Ramón replied, shaking his head. "But that's not why I'm here. I just saw Dave tampering with one of the cameras."

Walton blinked. "Wha— Tamper? What do you mean tamper?"

Ramón shrugged. "According to him, he was trying to fix the camera since it wasn't working right, but that's not something he's authorized to do, right?"

"No. Most definitely not," Walton replied, and with a look of horror he added, "Jesus! Do you think he might have something to do with the disappearances?"

Ramón went pale. "I didn't even think about that. Kids have been going missing ever since he switched over to the day shift, right?"

Walton nodded somberly. "Yeah, about ten kids as of now."

"Oh God…" Ramón felt sick to his stomach.

After taking a moment to think, Walton asked with a very serious look on his face, "Okay, this is very important, did you see Dave put anything into the camera or take anything out?"

Ramón shook his head. "No. And from where I was standing I couldn't see any of the internal components of the camera, so I couldn't tell you if there was something in it capable of altering the footage."

Walton let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. "Then there's not a whole lot to go on. Even so, I'll inform the police about this, and I'm firing Dave."

Ramón nodded in approval.

Walton thought for a moment, and then asked, "Do you think he might be behind whatever's going on with the animatronics?"

"I don't see how, unless he infected them with some kind of computer virus," Ramón replied. "But Mister Walton, we have to do something about the animatronics. Most of their code has been corrupted now, and they're getting more aggressive, especially towards the staff. Randy said that Chica attacked him while he was repairing her, and I saw Bonnie try to grab Pat earlier today."

Walton frowned and nodded. "And according to Jeremy, they get even crazier at night."

"Mister Walton, with all due respect, things are getting too dangerous to keep the restaurant open," Ramón said with some hesitancy.

"Maybe, but we'll stay open for as long as we can," Walton said firmly. "In the meantime, I've been trying to get in contact with Mister Emily to get those backups, and if we do then the problems with the animatronics should be solved, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure of it," Ramón replied with a nod.